Chapter 6 “Are Those Beasts Really That Fun?”

Chapter 6: "Were Those Beasts Really That Amusing?"

Xie Yan looked somewhat weary as he casually unfurled the portrait.

When his gaze fell upon Madam Lanji's sweetly smiling face, I noticed his body still for a moment. His cold, icy eyes, rarely touched by warmth, now held a faint trace of tenderness. He even extended his pale, slender fingers, carefully tracing the dimple on the painted face.

He stared at it for a long time. Just as I thought he might spend the entire night gazing at it, he suddenly spoke, "Come out."

It turned out Xie Yan had known of my presence all along. I could only step out sheepishly, my fingers unconsciously fidgeting as I explained, "I... I didn’t mean to break that branch. If I had known that peach blossom tree was planted by your mother, I would never have climbed it. I’m truly sorry."

"My apologies."

Xie Yan didn’t acknowledge my apology, his eyes still fixed on the portrait. Desperate to fill the silence, I added, "I found the court painter from back then and got this portrait. I’m giving it... giving it to you. Even though the branch can’t be reattached, I hope you’ll like this painting."

Only then did Xie Yan lift his head. For the first time, his cool, composed gray eyes held a different quality—one I couldn’t quite describe.

It was as if, before, whenever he looked at me, it was with the arrogance of someone gazing down at an ant. But this time, his clear eyes genuinely reflected my hesitant self—no longer a condescending stare, but with a hint of subtle emotion, as though a deity had finally been moved by the devotion of a humble believer, shedding actual tears.

He watched me in silence, and I, at a loss for words, nervously twisted the hem of my clothes. The room was so quiet you could hear every breath.

After a long while, he finally returned his gaze to the portrait, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Though I liked him, his intense, focused stare still made me incredibly nervous. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest.

"Get me some tea," Xie Yan said.

Following his order, I stole a glance at him as I left and noticed his eyes were rimmed with red.

I had always thought Xie Yan was like a deity high above the heavens—above desire, untouched by sorrow or joy. Yet, it turned out that a mere portrait of his mother was enough to make him pause and linger, unable to tear himself away.

This time, Xie Yan didn’t make things difficult for me like before. He took the tea from me with his usual composure. I looked up and saw the portrait had been hung in the most prominent spot in the study. It seemed I had done the right thing this time, and I felt somewhat relieved.

Perhaps the portrait had its effect; my subsequent tenure as a reader became much more comfortable. Xie Yan no longer treated me with the same harshness as before. As long as I didn't make any major mistakes, he would turn a blind eye and let me off.

To excel in my duties as quickly as possible, I almost worked day and night. During the day, I would cautiously grind ink and serve tea, and at night, I would seek out my master to learn the art of tea. Over time, I grew more adept at my job, and Xie Yan's treatment of me became increasingly lenient.

We even developed a certain secret understanding. A light cough from him, and I would immediately know whether he needed tea or more ink.

I often enjoyed watching Xie Yan write. His handwriting was sharp and vigorous, exuding a ruthless decisiveness, befitting a great general. At the same time, his hands were long and slender, with clearly defined knuckles, pale and clear like snow on a cold tile, making for a very pleasing sight.

Xie Yan seemed to notice my entranced gaze and looked over at me. His thin lips parted slightly as he said coolly, "Have you had enough?"

How could I ever have enough? Never in a lifetime!

But I dared not say such a thing. Instead, I forced myself to look away, pretending nothing had happened, though my cheeks burned faintly.

"Get back to your work," Xie Yan dismissed me without mercy.

I was reluctant to leave, so I took some paper and ink and pretended to write at the tea table. After seeing Xie Yan's handwriting, I resolved to practice diligently so that when we eventually married, I wouldn't be a hindrance to him.

I forced myself to concentrate, repeatedly writing Xie Yan's name until I entered a meditative state.

Suddenly, a pale hand appeared before me, two fingers tapping lightly on the tea table. I snapped out of my trance and met Xie Yan's face.

His eyes were lowered, his long, thick lashes like two fans, his gaze fixed on my writing. His brows furrowed, seemingly pained to see his name so poorly rendered. He casually handed me a calligraphy book.

When I opened it, I found that half of it had already been used. Curiously, I remarked, "The person who practiced before must have had very good handwriting, very proper and elegant. Who wrote it?"

"I did, when I was five."

Xie Yan said this coolly and returned to his desk. Though his expression remained calm, I knew he was mocking me! Mocking me for writing worse than he did at five years old! What a humiliation!

I secretly made up my mind to practice my calligraphy well, so that in the future I could also publish a copybook, named the September Copybook, and make Xie Yan and the likes of him look at me with newfound respect!

Thus, Xie Yan and I ended up getting along peacefully for quite some time, from the warm spring days to the scorching summer heat.

I realized that he was quite different from what I had imagined. I had thought him cold and unapproachable, but that wasn’t the case.

If servants in the residence made mistakes, such as breaking a precious vase, Xie Yan would often let them off easily and rarely lost his temper.

After the copybook incident, I discovered another side of Xie Yan beneath his cold and reticent exterior—he enjoyed deadpan teasing others, which was quite remarkable.

This made me like Xie Yan even more.

So, I became even more attentive in serving Xie Yan, even going so far as to jot down his preferences. I noticed that Xie Yan had a particular fondness for foreign things, perhaps due to having half of Madam Lanji's bloodline.

He always drank that salty milk tea for breakfast every day; if it was missing, he would lose his appetite. As spring gave way to summer, the milk tea was no longer served from Xie Yan’s dining table.

I secretly asked the kitchen and found out that, with the arrival of summer, the milk delivered from the palace would spoil easily. They were worried that using spoiled milk would ruin the taste of the tea, so they reported it to Xie Yan. He didn’t say anything but ate less than usual.

This really worried me.

I had to ask Xie Yan for time off to figure out a solution. To my surprise, when he heard I wanted a few days off, he actually glanced up at me and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Not wanting to reveal my plan before it was accomplished—in case I failed and ended up disappointing Xie Yan—I casually lied, “The weather is too hot; I think I might be suffering from heatstroke, so I’d like to go home and rest for a few days.”

I thought Xie Yan would be overjoyed to hear I was taking leave, immediately granting me time off forever and telling me I never needed to return. Instead, he pressed me about how many days I needed, acting like a landed noble who loves exploiting the working class.

“Three days.”

This duration seemed within Xie Yan’s acceptable range, so he grunted “Hmm” and waved me off.

I didn’t want to be away from Xie Yan for too long either. The moment I got home, I immediately contacted managers of various farms and spent the day visiting every farm in the capital to select milk sources.

Xie Yan had always drunk cow’s milk, but I’d heard that in foreign regions, milk tea was often made with goat’s milk, which was truer to the original style. So, I bought several milk-producing goats and cows and brought them home.

My father, seeing me spend all my days massaging and bathing these animals, heaved a long sigh as if he had given up on me. Only my family’s Little White, happy to see me home these past few days, followed me around busily, wagging its tail excitedly.

By the evening of the third day, I had finally made the salty milk tea. I was leisurely tending to the cows and goats in my backyard when the steward from the Crown Prince’s residence arrived.

He seemed bewildered to see me energetically brushing a cow’s back, since I had taken sick leave and should have been lying weakly in bed.

I felt a bit awkward too and coughed lightly before asking, “Steward, what brings you here?”

“Oh, I just came to remind Young Master Feng that the three-day period is up, and you should remember to return to duty at the Crown Prince’s residence tomorrow.”

So he was here to remind me to go to work tomorrow—though I wasn’t sure if Xie Yan had sent him or if he came on his own.

I could only repeatedly assure him I would be there and asked him not to reveal my secret, as I wanted to surprise Xie Yan and didn’t want him to find out what I was up to right away.

But the steward had always been loyal to Xie Yan, and he ratted me out immediately.

The next day, when Xie Yan saw me, his expression was far from pleasant. His lips were pressed into a straight line as he said coolly, “Are those beasts really that amusing?”

I opened my mouth but didn’t know how to respond. Probably Xie Yan thought I had taken those three days off just to indulge my whims and play with the cows or something. I felt wronged but just pursed my lips and stayed silent.

By breakfast time, Xie Yan was still frowning, seemingly still upset about my lying to take leave. It wasn’t until I brought out two bowls of milk tea that his expression softened slightly.

“This one is made with cow’s milk, and this one with goat’s milk. Try them both. I’ve raised several cows and goats at home now, so we’ll have milk tea every day from now on.” I’m not one to hold grudges against people I like, so I had already forgotten my earlier unhappiness and spoke excitedly.

“So these past three days, you were busy with this?” Xie Yan’s lips quirked slightly as he took a slow sip of each and said, “Passable.”

After spending so many days with Xie Yan, I naturally understood that his "acceptable" meant what ordinary people would call "really like." I perked up. "As long as you like it, it makes all my running around and busy work these past three days serving those so-called beasts worth it."

My words clearly carried a hidden meaning. Upon hearing this, Xie Yan immediately turned his face away, deliberately avoiding looking at me, with a bit of a childish sulk. He even purposely avoided touching those two cups of milk tea. I knew he was struggling to save face, so I gave him some space and left the room.

When I returned to clear the breakfast dishes, I found both milk tea cups completely empty. Xie Yan was still writing at his desk, and as if sensing my curious gaze, he slightly turned his body, leaving me with a stiff, cold shoulder.

[Author's Note:]

"I, Xie Yan, would rather jump from here than take a single sip of this milk tea."

"Tastes amazing~"